From beauty to bytes: An Indonesian tech manager's 9-year journey in Seoul
Meet Janice, a Indonesian Global Business Manager at CLINKERS Co., Ltd. in Seoul. We sat down with her to learn about her journey from Indonesia to Korea, what it's like working in tech here, and why she believes more global talent should consider a tech career in Korea.
Profile snapshot
- Name: Janice Lukito T.
- Nationality: Indonesia
- Current role & company: Global Business Manager, CLINKERS Co., Ltd.
- Years in Korea: 9 years
- Visa status: F-2
- Languages spoken: English, Bahasa Indonesia, Korean, Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu, (super) basic Italian
- Previous countries worked in (if any): Indonesia
Background & career
Q. Can you briefly introduce yourself and your current role?
Hi! I’m Janice from Indonesia, and I’ve been living in Korea for 9 years now. I’m the Global Business Manager at CLINKERS, a tech startup doing cool things with data. I’ve been in the IT world for the past 5 years, but fun fact, I actually started out in the beauty industry. Now I’m all about data, AI, and making tech work across borders.
Q. What was your career path before moving to Korea?
I studied Economics at Prasetiya Mulya Business School in Indonesia, then did the classic “work-while-waiting-for-grad-school” move at an e-commerce company. After 6 months of juggling order data and customer complaints, I packed my bags for Korea to start my master’s at Ewha GSIS.
Q. What inspired you to work in Korea?
Since I did my master’s in Korea, staying and job hunting here felt like the natural next step. You know how it goes, one minute you’re sitting in a class, the next you’re refreshing job boards and wondering if you can survive on a convenience store kimbap.
Experience working in Korea
Q. Tell us briefly about your company (size, industry focus, notable achievements).
CLINKERS is a small but mighty startup specializing in data and platform development. Internationally, we’re working with governments in Africa to build open data platforms. Locally, we created glow, a super app for foreign workers in Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Since most of our team comes from the fintech world, glow focuses on financial services like loans, remittance, and deposits, basically, helping foreign workers do money stuff without the headaches.
Q. How did you find your current job? Was the hiring process challenging as a foreigner?
I found my current job through a casual intro from a friend. After my time at an AI company, I was looking for something new when I met the CEO over lunch, he was looking for advice on going global, so I played consultant for the day. A few days later, he invited me to dinner and asked me to join his company. Funny thing: his office was right next to my old AI company, so I still bump into my former colleagues, small world!
As for the hiring process, it wasn’t too tough, but doing interviews in Korean definitely was. I never studied Korean formally, mostly picked it up from variety shows and K-pop. So, my professional Korean was a bit shaky right after grad school, especially since my master’s classes were all in English. Luckily, working in the super traditional Korean beauty industry gave me plenty of chances to sharpen my professional Korean skills.
Q. Can you describe your typical workday?
My commute is a solid 2-hour round trip ever since our office moved, so I’ve basically earned a PhD in subway sleeping and people-watching. I usually get to the office around 8 or 9am (we have flexible 출근 (chulgeun meaning “attendance”) time between 7 and 10). My mornings start with the holy trinity: emails, news, and app analytics. Then I chat with teammates about upcoming events or whatever bug decided to ruin our day. We’re lucky to have a 1.5-hour lunch break, so after eating, I usually squeeze in a few matches of FC25 on the Switch or chill at a cafe with colleagues for some quality small talk. After that, it’s time for the real brain work... meetings, proposals, documentation... you know, all the grown-up stuff.
Q: How does Korean work culture compare to your home country's?
In Korea, work relationships are pretty formal, people tend to keep things strictly professional, and it’s rare to hang out with colleagues outside work unless it’s an official 회식 (hwesik meaning “dining together”). There’s also that famous hierarchy and age wall (on top of the 존댓말 (jondaenmal meaning “honorific”) wall), so it’s not easy to just chat with your manager like a buddy.
Back in Indonesia, it’s way more relaxed. We even call our superiors "kakak" (meaning big bro/sis), and it’s totally normal to grab dinner with them after work or even go on a trip together. The vibe is more friendly, less structured.
That said, I actually vibe with Korea’s 빨리빨리 (ppalrippalri meaning “hurry-hurry”) culture, it matches my personality. In Indonesia, things tend to move at a more relaxed pace, which can be nice… but sometimes you just want things done.
Q. Do you speak Korean at work? How is communication handled in your team?
Yep, I speak Korean at work. Internally, everything’s in Korean, and only one colleague speaks fluent English, but luckily, she’s super chill. Despite our age gap, we chat in English and even speak 반말 (banmal meaning “talking down to”) to each other like we’re old friends.
I don’t actually have a team in-house since I’m the one-person global business squad. So my real “team” is our overseas partners, and I communicate with them in English daily.
Also, fun fact, my Korean is apparently iconic enough that my coworkers started a quote list of my most memorable Korean moments. I like to think of it as my unofficial language trophy wall.
| 어학원을 다니지 않은 제니스 어록 | Janice who didn't attend a language school quotes |
|---|---|
| 미백하면 얼굴이랑 몸이 건너편이 되잖아요 | When you do whitening, your face and body end up looking like zebra cross/cross-walk. |
| 얼굴이 깜깜해져요 | My face gets really dark. |
| 치카치카하고 얘기하시죠 | Let's brush our teeth and talk. |
| 저도 아직 애기에요 | I'm still a baby too. |
| 저 내성적인 사람이에요 | I'm an introverted person. |
| 왜그러냐 | Why are you like this? |
| 못생겨서 관심없어요 | I'm not interested because it's ugly. |
| 왔다갔다 육시간 | It's six hours round trip. |
Q. What challenges have you faced adapting to Korea's work environment?
At first, the biggest challenge was definitely the language. In my first company, the CEO used to nitpick my Korean so much that I’d get anxious before every weekly meeting, just waiting for the grammar police to strike. But over time, I realized my performance spoke louder than my imperfect Korean, so I stopped stressing and just did my thing.
The second challenge was navigating the hierarchy, whether by age or position. I felt like I always had to be super 눈치 (nunchi meaning “eye measure”) before speaking up or sharing opinions. But these days, I’ve learned how to strategically use my “foreigner card,” so I’m a little less 눈치-heavy and a bit more “I’m-just-gonna-say-it” at work.
Lifestyle & community
Q. What's your life outside of work like? How have you built your social life here?
Most of my post-grad friends have gone back to their home countries, so my social circle in Korea got a bit... downsized. Luckily, I live with my best buddy, and we’re basically a package deal from Monday to Saturday. We’re both total homebodies, so our ideal evening is just chilling on the sofa with a good drama or movie.
On weekdays, we try to balance the sitting with a bit of movement, usually a walk or a quick tennis session after work. Saturdays are for swimming, and Sundays are our “me time.” I head to the Indonesian Embassy to play tennis and hang out with the Indonesian community, while she goes to dance class or meets up with her friends.
Oh, and we’re big on travel, China is our go-to escape. Every other month we sneak away for some good food and a little retail therapy. It’s our way of recharging, mentally and gastronomically.
Q. How much has knowing Korean (or learning it) helped in your daily life?
Knowing Korean has been a total game-changer. It helps me get around on my own, ask for clarification when I’m out and about, and most importantly unlock the secret world of local deals and announcements that are only in Korean. Basically, Korean fluency is the difference between “just surviving” and “thriving with discounts.”
Q. What was your biggest culture shock when you first arrived?
When I first came to Korea 9 years ago, I was pretty shocked by a couple of things. First, some Koreans couldn’t really tell the difference between 인도 (indo meaning “India“) and 인도네시아 (indonesia meaning “Indonesia“). When I said I’m from Indonesia, they’d ask if I eat curry every day, like, nope, not exactly! Then I’d mention Bali, and they’d say, “Oh, we know Bali!”… but they thought Bali was its own country, and it was their first time realizing Bali is actually part of Indonesia. Mind blown.
The other shocker, okay, this one’s a bit more personal and still surprises me, is the whole sauna and swimming pool culture. In Korea, everyone just walks around naked in the dressing rooms and showers together. Back in Indonesia, we’re used to private changing rooms or at least curtains for privacy, so being naked in public like that was a huge culture shock.
One time in Busan, my Indonesian friends and I couldn’t get a hotel room and ended up at a sauna. We stepped into the dressing room and were immediately greeted by naked people strolling around. We tried to find a private changing room, no luck. We lasted 20 minutes before we bailed and got a refund. The receptionist even laughed at us!
Now, I swim every week and I’m getting used to it… but I’m still not totally there yet.
Reflections & advice
Q. Do you plan to stay in Korea long-term, and how do you see your career evolving here?
Honestly, I’m not 100% sure yet. After 9 years in Korea, I’ve been thinking maybe it’s time for a change of scenery, maybe Singapore to be closer to my parents, or China, since their tech scene is booming with tons of exciting opportunities.
Working at a startup gives me a lot of flexibility and freedom to choose what I want to focus on. Plus, startups mean multitasking is the name of the game, so I’m constantly learning new skills and wearing different hats. It’s hectic but super rewarding, and perfect for keeping my career evolving.
Q. What tips would you give to someone searching for a tech job in Korea?
Korean tech language is always evolving, but don’t let that scare you, there are plenty of tech job opportunities even if you’re not fluent in Korean. At my previous AI company, about 30% of the team were foreigners, and most of them didn’t speak Korean, so English was the main language for communication.
If you’ve got the skills, just go for it. Don’t be afraid to apply and give it a shot, you might be surprised how welcoming the tech scene can be.
Q. What can Korean companies do to better support and integrate international employees?
I think Korean companies could help international employees a lot by dialing down the hierarchy a bit. No matter how fluent we get in Korean, we still tend to use more 눈치 (nunchi meaning “eye measure”) to read the room than locals, so a more open and relaxed culture would make a big difference.
Also, it’d be awesome if companies offered more practical support around visa issues, taxes, and housing. Most of those documents are in Korean, which can be really tough to navigate alone. Having dedicated help would make settling-in way easier for foreigners.
Q. What's one thing you wish you knew before moving here?
How little some Koreans might know about the world beyond Korea. But honestly, I’ve learned to take it in stride and not take it personally.
Q. Would you recommend Korea to other international tech professionals, and why?
I’m kinda 50-50 on recommending Korea to international tech folks. The tech scene’s definitely buzzing and there’s a lot going on, but a lot of companies mostly focus on the local market and lean on government support like it’s their security blanket.
So if that support disappears, your job might suddenly be playing musical chairs. If you’re cool with a bit of risk and hustle, Korea’s a fun place. But if you want things super steady, maybe bring a backup plan.
Rapid fire
- Favorite Korean food: 곱창 (gopchang meaning “tripas”)
- One must-visit place in Korea: 신촌황소곱창! thank me later (sinchonhwangsogopchang meaning “Sinchon HwangSo Gopchang” which is a restaurant name)
- Most surprising thing about Korean tech culture: “오늘도 개발자 가 안 된다고 말했다” they even have the book with the same name lol (oneuldo gaebaljja ga an dwendago malhaettta meaning “The developer said it can’t be done, again today”)
- Favorite Korean word or phrase: 어이가 없네…? (oiga omne...? meaning “I can't believe it…?”)
Connect with Janice
- LinkedIn: /in/janicelukito
- Website: janicelukito.com
If you want to be next and contribute, send us an email to florian@dev-korea.com.
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